Fedor Emelianenko

The Last Emperor

Fedor was the last holder of the Pride Heavyweight Championship and last and only holder of the Wamma Heavyweight Championship. He was the Pride 2004 Heavyweight Grand Prix Champion and won the World Combat Sambo championship on four occasions as well as medaling in the Russian national Judo championship.

So it begins : RINGS FIGHTING NETWORK

Fedor started his MMA career as a member of the Russian Top Team and was training with the first generation of Russian RINGS veterans such as Volk Han and Andrei Kopylov.

After a good start and a controversial win over Ricardo Arona, Emelianenko suffered his first loss in the sport at the hands of Tsuyoshi Kohsaka. Fedor lost by way of T.K.O "ref stoppage" after being cut on the eyebrow by an accidental elbow strike, elbow strikes were illegal under Rings rules. Since the fight was in a tournament format, a winner and loser were required as draws or no-contests could not be awarded. Since Emelianenko could not advance due to his injury, Kohsaka moved on with the win.

After defeating Renato Sobral, Emelianenko was supposed to fight for the World Heavyweight Class Championship against Bobby Hoffman. However, Hoffman was unable to fight being injured from a previous bout, he had to forfeit the final. A win was awarded to Emelianenko by default, and he was given the RINGS Heavyweight Class Championship.

On February 15, 2002, Emelianenko defeated Chris Haseman and won the RINGS Absolute Class Tournament, the last tournament ever held by RINGS.

It's a matter of Pride

After the death of RINGS, Fedor made his debut in Pride FC against the much larger fighter Semmy Schilt. Fedor was able to over-come the large height and striking disadvantage via superior grappling and ground control, he won the fight by unanimous decision in what would be his first win in the organisation. His next fight was against the favoured Heath Herring. This fight marks the second time Fedor's barbaric ground and pound and pace were showcased. After pounding on Herring for a full 10 minutes round, the doctor's decided to stop the fight for Heath's safety. The win placed Fedor's name among title contending fighters for a shot at heavyweight champion Antonio Nogueira. Fedor dominated Nogueira for three rounds and won the Pride Heavyweight belt. So began the legacy of Fedor Emelianenko.

Some of Fedor's victims in pride were

• Mark Coleman (twice)
• Kevin Randleman
• Mark Hunt
• Gary Goodridge
• Mirko "cro cop"
• Kazuyuki Fujita

A Future After Pride

Aswell as competing in MMA, Fedor competed in Sambo tournaments in Russia. He remained the champ of World Combat Sambo Championships from 2002 to 2008 when he finaly lost to Blagoi Ivanov. After the sale of Pride FC to Zuffa owners of the UFC, Fedor signed with M-1 global and fought for many promotions under their umbrella.

One of the terms asked by M-1 Global in order to be able to hire Fedor was the co-promoting clause, a promoter would have to split his business in half in order to use the russian phenom . After the death of Pride, Fedor fought and defeated 2 former UFC heavyweight champion in Tim Sylvia and Andrei Arlovski, after Affliction went under. Fedor and M-1 global signed with Strikeforce, where Fedor fought Brett Rogers an undefeated heavyweight with only a few months of full time training. After a hard fought battle, Fedor knocked out Brett in the second round. At this point of his career, Fedor was considered the number 1 heavyweight fighter in the world, riding a 27 fights winning streak with a record of 31-1-1, his only loss being a disputable stoppage 9 years earlier.

The Fall of The Last Emperor

FEDOR vs. WERDUM

Fedor Emelianenko faced Fabricio Werdum on June 26, 2010 at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum. In an upset victory, Werdum forced Fedor to tap via triangle/armbar 1:09 into the first round. The victory ended Emelianenko's 28-fight unbeaten streak while propelling Werdum's status up the Heavyweight rankings. “The one who doesn’t fall doesn’t stand up,” Emelianenko said. “I was concentrating on the strikes. That’s why I made the mistake. We’ll try and figure out and analyze why it happened. We have one more fight, for which I will come to America.”

FEDOR vs. BIGFOOT SILVA

In January 2011, it was announced that Fedor had agreed to enter the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix, and would face Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva on February 12th in the first quarterfinal match. After a close first round bout, Silva took control in round 2. After passing to mount, he unleashed a barrage of ground and pound that ultimately caused Fedor's right eye to swell shut. After a round of total domination on the ground Ringside doctors called a stop to the fight, stating that Fedor could not see and they would not allow him to continue. After the Big Foot fight, Fedor implied that he may retire. “Yes, maybe, it’s the last time. Maybe it’s high time. Thanks for everything. I spent a great beautiful long sport life. Maybe it’s God’s will,” said Fedor about his possible retirement while still in the cage.

FEDOR vs. HENDERSON

In May 2011, a non-title matchup between Strikeforce light heavyweight champ Dan Henderson and Fedor Emelianenko was made official, headlining a July 30 Strikeforce event in Chicago that will air on Showtime. The Heavyweight bout was in the works since shortly after Henderson (27-8) claimed the 205-pound title from Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante in March and was rumored to mark Strikeforce’s pay-per-view debut before being purchased by the UFC.

Fedor lost the fight by way of TKO, with Henderson coming from behind in dramatic fashion: Henderson appeared to be in trouble on the ground, and then an instant later he pulled free and hit Fedor right in the chin from behind. Fedor went limp and fell face-first to the canvas, and referee Herb Dean stepped in to stop the fight at 4 minutes 12 seconds of the first round. In the post fight interview, Fedor expressed his opinion on the stoppage

"I think it was early, I don't want to say anything bad about the referee or anything but it was early. Well, I was clearly hit but I wasn't hit flush directly and it seems like I could have continued but the referee decided to stop the fight."

Following his third loss in a row, Emelianenko was reportedly released from Strikeforce.

The Comeback

FEDOR vs. MONSON

Emelianenko fought Jeff Monson on November 20, 2011 at the Olympic Arena in Moscow, Russia and won the fight via unanimous decision..Fedor used a patient, strategic approach that characterized him in his prime. Using more jabs, straight punches and low kicks that he had in years, Emelianenko gradually dismantled Monson over three rounds.

By the end of the fight, Monson's face was heavily bruised and bleeding. He winced and leaned heavily on his cornermen as he limped to the backstage area.

A decorated submission grappler, Monson tried several times to wrestle or lure his opponent to the ground. Emelianenko would have no part of it, quickly shrugging off or sprawling on Monson's takedown attempts. Departing from recent habits that landed him in trouble against Fabricio Werdum and Dan Henderson, Emelianenko refused to dive onto Monson after knockdowns and backed away instead to force him to stand up.

FEDOR vs. ISHII

Fedor returned to Japan for the Dream New Year’s Eve show "Fight for Japan: Genki Desu Ka Omisoko 2011", to face Olympic Judoka gold medalist Satoshi Ishii and won by KO in the first round.

Fedor was patient with his attacks, something he seemed to lack in his last few fights while competing under the Strikeforce banner.

Once he had the distance down, Emelianenko started to plod forward with a cocked right hand. Fedor finally pulled the trigger and with one punch he shattered Ishii’s nose. A flurry of punches followed as Ishii crumbled to the canvas.

FEDOR vs. RIZZO

When the fight between Fedor Emelianenko and Pedro Rizzo was announced, a lot of critics were displeased with the matchup which seemed to be a one sided affair in favor of Fedor. Rizzo who had been inactive for the past two years, was, by all accounts, in the twighlight of his career. Many fans and experts alike would have liked to see Fedor sign with a major promotion or at the very least, face a top 15 opponent

On June 21, 2012 in St. Petersburg, Russia, Emelianenko faced three-time UFC heavyweight title contender Pedro Rizzo in an event promoted by M-1 Global. Prior to the bout, it was rumored that Fedor would retire after taking on Rizzo. Originally denying any possible rumors of retirement at first, Emelianenko later announced his retirement in-ring post-fight after defeating Rizzo by knockout in the first two minutes of the first round.

Although Emelianenko is retired as a competitor, he will continue his career in MMA as the president of the Russian MMA Union.